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ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY:
- Modern Latin, short for stella polaris, lit. "the pole star" (see polar). The ancient Greeks called it Phoenice, "the Phoenician (star)," since the Phoenicians used it for navigation, though due to precession of the equinoxes it was not then the pole star. As the name of a U.S. Navy long-range submarine-launched guided nuclear missile, it dates from 1957.
- 1550s, from M.L. polaris, from L. polus (see pole (n.2)). Meaning "directly opposite in character or tendency" is attested from 1832. Polar bear first recorded 1781.
- pole (n.2)
- "ends of Earth's axis," late 14c., from L. polus "end of an axis, the sky," from Gk. polos "pivot, axis of a sphere, the sky," from PIE *kwolo- "turn round," from root *kwel- (see cycle (n.)). Astronomical pole-star (proper name Polaris) is from 1550s. The Old English word for it was Scip-steorra "ship-star," reflecting its importance in navigation.
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